BlogTV Episode 5: Am I Gay? (Sept 30)

From the BlogTV website

Episode 5: Am I gay?
Catch it on Tuesday, 30 September at 8:30 pm on Channel NewsAsia

When you were 16, perhaps younger, and beginning to understand
yourself better – what happens when you find that unlike your
classmates you are different? You're not attracted to the opposite sex?

A poll was conducted in 2007 and of the 187 secondary school respondents:

* 33% felt that homosexuality was wrong
* More than 35% felt that homosexuals were responsible for passing AIDS
* 42% blamed gay people for paedophilia

This poll raises the issue of whether there is enough frank talk about
homosexuality among younger students. Is the topic of homosexuality
still taboo in schools, and are schools doing enough to educate
students about their sexual orientation? Or is it a case of 'if I
don't talk about it, it ain't there.'

This week BlogTV turns the spotlight onto sex education. Is it enough
to just discuss safe sex? Should we not be discussing all the
different sexualities as well? How educational is our sex education
system anyway? And seriously, should teachers be teaching sex amidst
history, English literature etc?

We ask these questions and more as we attempt to answer the question
that might occur to every adolescent at least once - am I Gay?

With our guests, we look away from excuses and seek answers to see if
our education for youths needs to be revamped to include alternative
perspectives.

You can also catch a repeat of the programme at these following times:
30th September, 11.30pm
1st October, 1.30pm
2nd October, 5.30pm

ST: 8 questions with... Loretta Chen (Sept 29)

Sep 29, 2008
8 questions with... Loretta Chen
Wild thing
First, an Annabel Chong play. Now, The Vagina Monologues. Loretta Chen
is big on taboos
By tara tan

Theatre director Loretta Chen, 31, is a political animal who pushes
boundaries on and off the stage.

Her controversial play about Singaporean porn star Annabel Chong, 251,
got people talking when it was staged in April last year.

She is also an active member of the Young PAP and posed questions
about censorship to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew at a youth dialogue
last year.

Chen was recently nominated by DrTeo Ho Pin, mayor of North West
district, to be in the North West Community Development Corporation's
executive committee.

Her current project is Eve Ensler's feminist play, The Vagina
Monologues, which opens on Wednesday. The play also marks the
inaugural show of her new company, Zebra Crossing.

Here is a little-known fact: She is also the baby sister of television
actor Edmund Chen.

'As a 10-year-old, I used to tag along to all his filming sessions,'
chuckled Chen, who is 14 years younger than her brother.

'That was what got me hooked on performances: seeing my big brother
turn into someone else on screen.'

Born to a clerk and a housewife, Chen, who grew up in a two-room flat
in Tanglin Halt, calls herself 'a complete accident'.

'My dad was 41 and my mum was 39 when they had me. Eric, my second
eldest brother, is only three years apart from Edmund,' said Chen.

She went on to study theatre studies at the National University of
Singapore, where she now teaches part-time while pursuing her
doctorate on queer performances staged in Singapore.

In 1999, she headed to University of London's Royal Holloway for her
master's, before starting on her doctorate at the University of
California in Los Angeles where she lived for over two years.

She returned to Singapore in 2002 and went on to garner a Life!
Theatre Awards nomination for Best Director for Ten Brothers, a cheeky
retelling of a Chinese folktale about 10 siblings who each possesses a
different superpower.

1. What draws you to controversial plays?

I am drawn to material which is overlooked in mainstream society and I
question why people react to it that way.

The contents often centre on fascinating personalities such as strong
women, as well as issues I feel very much for.

2. I hear you are quite superstitious. Is that why you are dressed in
all white today?

Yes, my geomancer told me it is my lucky colour. I just thought, what
the heck. I bought a white car, lots of white clothes, then white
shoes and white bags to match.

When I was harbouring thoughts of starting a theatre company, I got my
fortune told in a temple in China that said I should start my business
with my close friends, which I did.

3. Why name your theatre company Zebra Crossing?

(Laughs) I have a theory for that. We spend a lot of time on the road,
where people have little patience or much space.

At zebra crossings, however, traffic ceases to exist and only people
matter. No matter how important the driver is or how big the car, you
have to stop for the pedestrian.

Zebra Crossing will produce all sorts of theatre, from Broadway
musicals to newly commissioned works.

4. What does theatre mean to you?

When I was studying in California in 2002, my partner committed
suicide. Theatre, in a way, helped me deal with this very difficult
time. I was able to look at it as if it was a scene from my life's play.

Sometimes, when something melodramatic happens to you, you need to be
able to distance yourself and look at it with some objectivity.

5. What was your childhood like?

I grew up in a working-class family but I always had enough even
though we were not very rich. The house was full of love.

I never felt poorer than my classmates, who were always jetting off on
holidays to the United States or Europe.

I had nice pencil cases and birthday parties at McDonald's. Thinking
back, all these must have cost my parents quite a bit but they gave
them to me so I was never in want of anything.

6. What do you think makes a strong woman and do you think of yourself
as one?

To me, a strong woman is someone who says she can do anything she puts
her mind to. Sometimes, it takes more strength to be able to say you
are wrong or you are not good at something.

As a director, I rely on my collaborators. I have ideas but need
talented people to carry them out. We directors are useless without
them behind us.

7. What made you join the Young PAP?

If you want to make a change, you have to actively make it and that
means working within the political avenues.

Some people get quite disheartened, cynical and feel powerless because
they keep criticising from the outside.

I say: Jump in and fight for what you believe in. Theatre is a great
platform for me to be politically aware and socially involved while
still being creative.

8. Complete this sentence. If I could live my life all over again,
Iwould...

Not change it at all. I needed to go through my life the way I did.

On a lighter note, however, I wished I went for my bunion operation
earlier. I am going for it next month but now my feet look funny.

taratan@sph.com.sg

book it

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES
(Rated R18 for adult content and strong language)

Who: Zebra Crossing
When: Wednesday to Oct 12 (except Mondays and Sundays) at 8pm.
Matinees on Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm
Where: Drama Centre Theatre @ National Library Building
Tickets: $17 to $57 from Sistic (log on to www.sistic.com.sg or call
6348-5555)

TNP: 'Hong Lim Green' to turn somewhat pink (Sept 26)

'Hong Lim Green' to turn somewhat pink
Organiser plans gay pride parade at Speakers' Corner
HONG LIM Park (once called Green) is open for demos of all shades and hues (except unlawful ones, of course).
By Andre Yeo
26 September 2008

HONG LIM Park (once called Green) is open for demos of all shades and
hues (except unlawful ones, of course).

So it is no surprise that the gay lobby here wants to use it in
November to make a statement.

Riding on the new, relaxed rules on protests at the park's Speakers'
Corner, Mr Roy Tan, 50, is planning a gay pride parade. But the
response to it has so far been uncertain.

Mr Alex Au, 55, one of the leaders of gay advocacy group, People Like
Us, likes the idea but he questions if it should be called thus.

He said: 'I am sceptical of calling it a parade if they can't walk
down the streets. A parade requires linear movement.'

Ms Jean Chong, 32, a lesbian who is self-employed and also from People
Like Us, said she was aware of the parade but was not sure if she
would be attending.

She told The New Paper: 'I think most of them (the gay community) are
standing on one side and thinking about it.

'Most don't see Hong Lim Park as a big step towards more freedom. It's
a form of tokenism.

'On the one hand, they feel they want to support it (the parade). But,
on the other hand, they are against the concept of Hong Lim Park
because you should have the right to demonstrate anywhere.'

Following Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally speech
to slowly liberalise the political scene here, rules were changed such
that from 1 Sep, public demonstrations can now be held at Speakers'
Corner as long as they do not touch on race or religion.

Organiser Mr Tan, 50, who works in the healthcare industry, said: 'I
thought it would be good for someone to organise the first pride
parade and, hopefully, it would be the first of many and be part of
the cultural landscape.'

Mr Tan said that even if he were the only one at the park for the
event, he would march round the place holding a placard on Section
377A - a section of the penal code that criminalises gay sex.

Mr Tan said he would be marching three times round the park singing We
Shall Overcome, a civil rights anthem, to represent the struggle for
equality.

He expected people to come but he did not think many would be marching.

He said: 'Many people are not prepared to do it at the moment. The
first step is the most difficult one.'

The management of Speakers' Corner used to be under the police, but
now comes under the National Parks Board (NParks).

Demonstrators only need to register on the NParks website.

Yesterday, an NParks spokesman confirmed that it had received a
registration for a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual pride parade
at the Corner on 15 Nov.

It is slated to last from 3 to 7pm.

According to the NParks website, Singapore permanent residents can
also take part in a demonstration at Speakers' Corner and are required
to apply for a police permit only if they want to organise a
demonstration themselves or to speak at the Corner.

Foreigners will have to apply for a permit to conduct or take part in
any activity at the Corner.

Women's Nite 27th September 2008: Don't Shy, Just Ask!‏

What do gay women look like?
Where are good places to meet other women?
Help! I'm in love with my best friend, should I tell her?

Brimming with questions but can't find the answers?

Join Women's Nite this month as we take a shot at them. We promise no quick
fixes but lots of fun as we figure them out together!

***

Women's Nite September 2008
Saturday 27th September, 7pm
Venue (in Singapore) will be disclosed upon registration.

Limited to 30 invites, so please register with your full name, contact
number, the full name/s of your guests, if any, and the type of halal food
or drink you would be contributing to the potluck.

Although Women's Nite is open to women of all orientations, please let us
know if you are straight, or are bringing along straight guests, so that we
can be sensitive to the needs of all women present.

Please send your details to women.snite@gmail.com [women dot snite at gmail
dot com]

Registration closes at midnight 26th September 2008

***

About Women's Nite

Women's Nite provides a safe, neutral and alcohol-free space for lesbians
and bisexual women in Singapore to discuss the issues relevant to their
lives.

The event, held on the last Saturday of every month, was started in December
2003. Over a potluck dinner, we hold discussions on wide ranging topics like
self acceptance, homophobia, relationships and identity. We also invite
special guests to field questions on legal rights and sexual health, and
conduct art and dance therapy nights.

To check out the past months' events, or find out more, please go to
http://women_snite.livejournal.com
To get email updates on each month's event, please visit

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/women_snite to join our mailing list.

As far as possible, we would like to keep this space commercial free. To
advertise events and projects, please email us at
women.snite@gmail.com

ST Forum: Corporate Social Responsibility (Sept 18)

Sep 18, 2008
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Let's get down to business
THESE articles in The Straits Times deserve commendation: Miss Li
Xueying on religious diversity last Friday ('Tackling religious
taboo'), Mr Wong Kim Hoh on transsexuals ('When papa became mama',
Sept 6) and Miss Tan Hui Yee on migrant workers ('Standing up for
foreign workers', Sept 10).

They are expressions of corporate social responsibility of your
newspaper and are in line with the goals of major corporations,
business tycoons and religious leaders. Your publication is
world-class in promoting social responsibility in this part of the world.

It's time Singapore incorporates social responsibility in our culture.
We have read much about our necessity to import foreign talent so that
Singapore can become a financial, medical and research hub, and make
its contribution to the global society. While appreciating foreign
talent with great skills, we must not ignore foreign workers with less
skills who work among us here.

The construction industry is highly dependent upon workers in this
region who come here to work in tough, physically-demanding
conditions. They build our buildings, lay our roads, clean our
environment and yet find it so difficult to rest from their daily
labour with proper housing. Our domestic workers have left their own
homes and family to work in ours, looking after our children and aged
parents, and yet do not have a fair contract and time to rest.

People with different sexual orientations are being discriminated
socially and economically even though they are our own fellow citizens.

Foreign sex workers come here to secure an income to feed their
families in their poor rural societies. How do we show kindness, care
and concern when we turn a deaf ear to the cries of such people in our
midst?

Some corporations and a few churches are actively engaged in the
alleviation of poverty, elimination of HIV/Aids - especially in the
African countries - and reduction of global warming. Our own business
establishments need to exercise corporate social responsibility.

Each of us can make a difference and work together to build a kind,
caring and compassionate society.

Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao

TimeOut Singapore Listing of Pelangi Pride Centre

PELANGI PRIDE CENTRE
The folks at Pelangi Pride Centre offer a neutral and friendly space to explore your sexuality. With regular talks, screenings and other group activities (we're not talking swinging parties here), they also operate a resource library devoted to HIV education and GLBTQ issues. Books may be borrowed for a small, returnable deposit. Newly relocated to DYMK (9 Kreta Ayer Road)!

For more information, email pelangipridecentre@yahoo.com.